Flames
by Black Goddess
Summary: Set at the beginning of Season Three before Angel comed back. No spoilers. Spike/Buffy. Spike and Dru return to Sunnydale to say goodbye to the past.


Flames  
By the Black Goddess  
  
Disclaimer: None of it's mine.  
I wrote this BEFORE Spike/Buffy became canon, when I first started reading fanfic. I was young when I wrote this, so be kind! This just seems a good time to put these fics up. It's scary to be typing a fic that does not contain slash! I actually wrote this before I saw Season Three, so it's set right at the beginning of Season Three, before Angel comes back. Anyway, on with the story....  
  
  
The platinum blond man stared hopefully at the girl on the chair before him.  
"Please Dru, I had to do it! He was taking you from me baby, I had to do something"  
"You took away my Angel Spike. You left him for the Slayer"  
"I did it for you Dru. I love you." Spike stared at Angel beseechingly. "I'll do anything for you Dru. Anything you want, as long as you'll take me back"  
"OK" she agreed, rocking the doll in her arms.  
"You'll take me back?"  
"Yes my love. But I want you to play a game with me Spike"  
"Anything to make my princess happy. What's the game?"  
Instead of answering him, Drusilla put a finger to the lips of her doll.  
"Shh petal. Don't tell 'im. It'll spoil the surprise."  
  
The next sunrise Drusilla came back to their room with a parcel in her arms.  
"Open it Spike" she crooned. "It's a present"  
Spike opened the parcel. There was something square inside it, wrapped in white cloth. He unwrapped the cloth, realising as he did so that it was a T-shirt. The square object turned out to be hair dye. Brown hair dye.  
"I want you to dress up as Angel" Drusilla said excitedly. "Then things can go back to how they were before."  
Spike stared at the hair dye and the T-shirt, many emotions boiling in his mind. After a long pause he said:  
"Sure Dru. Like I said, I'd do anything for you." Drusilla laughed and clapped her hands.  
"But first" continued Spike, "why don't we take a little trip? To celebrate Halloween."  
"Angel always enjoys Halloween" agreed Dru.  
  
*** ***  
  
Buffy Summers sat on the swing, staring gloomily over the play area. It was a quite night, she hadn't even slain one vampire. She checked her watch. Midnight. She knew she wouldn't sleep if she went home now. It had been too quiet - and there were too many reminders of Angel in her patrol areas. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the claddagh ring. She never wore it now, but carried it with her to remind her of the good timed with Angel. She stared at it, feeling a wave of emotion wash over her. But these were not the fresh waves of pain and sorrow she had always felt before. She still felt sad, but something inside her told her it was time to move on. She gazed at the ring, considering this. She needed to move into the future, and this ring was holding her in the past, making her wish for things she could no longer have. She clenched her fist around it and stood up. She knew what she was going to do.  
Buffy swiftly made her way to the mansion. She stood looking up at it for a minute, remembering, then quietly went around the back to find the spot where Acathla had stood. She was surprised to hear a familiar voice crying:  
"No Spike, not Miss Edith!"  
Buffy headed quickly in the direction of Drusilla's cries, making sure to keep out of sight. The scene she saw in front of her stopped her dead in her tracks, unable to believe her eyes. Drusilla was tied firmly to a trellis, struggling and crying out. What looked like a funeral pyre had been constructed several feet away from her. Miss Edith was sitting on top of it, wrapped in something white and leaning against a box of what seemed to be hair dye. Miss Edith faced Drusilla, firmly gagged. Spread out around the base of the pyre were Drusilla's other dolls.  
What made this scene even more unbelievable was the fact that Spike was there. He wasn't tied up, in fact he was humming cheerfully and cutting sprays of jasmine from the plants which were growing in the garden. Quite obviously, neither of them knew she was there.  
Buffy was never quite sure why she did what she did next. She stepped out of the bushes where she had been hiding and walked over to a wall which looked like a convenient seat with a good view. Drusilla screamed, causing Spike to turn round.  
"Hello Slayer" he said calmly. "Long time no see."  
"I guess. What are you doing?"  
"Playing with fire. You want to give me a hand with this?"  
"Nope. The way I see it, men do the manual jobs, women have the babies. There has to be some compensation for the agony."  
"Fine by me Slayer" responded Spike amiably. He picked up the jasmine and moved over to the pyre. He moved Miss Edith, the hair dye and the other dolls carefully away before wreathing the jasmine round it.  
"Spare my baby!" shrieked Drusilla. "Spare Miss Edith Spike. Have mercy!" Ignoring Drusilla, Spike stepped away from his work, looking at it critically with his head on one side.  
"What do you think pet?" he said thoughtfully to Buffy. He came over and sat close beside her on the wall, sliding his arm around her and resting his head against her, his eyes fixed on the funeral pyre. Buffy didn't flinch or back away. The whole situation was unreal - like a dream, and this was even more surreal than the rest of the night. Spike got up again and moved to make some more adjustments to the jasmine and Buffy seized the chance to ask her question.  
"What exactly are we doing?"  
"We're having a symbolic burning. To celebrate Halloween." he answered. "There we go, I think we're ready." He walked over to Miss Edith and picked her up. He unwrapped the white thing, which Buffy could now see was a T-shirt, and picked up the hair dye. Spike walked to the funeral pyre and placed the hair dye flat in the centre, covering it with the T-shirt.  
"These symbolise Angel" he explained over his shoulder. He took a blood red rose from his pocket and placed it carefully onto the T-shirt. "This symbolises love" he said softly. He stared at the pile for a moment, then said cheerfully "and Miss Edith is just some torture before we burn Dru" Drusilla wailed, renewing her desperate attempts to break free of her bonds and rescue Miss Edith.  
"What's up ducks?" Spike asked, apparently noticing Drusilla for the first time. "Not so keen on joining your beloved Angel?"  
"Why are we burning Drusilla? Not that I'm not grateful" Buffy added hastily as Spike turned to look at her. "I'm just curious, that's all."  
"I'm not Angel. I never was, and I never could be" said Spike seriously.  
Buffy stared at him for a moment. She could feel the claddagh ring held tightly in her hand.  
'This way's as good as any other' she thought dreamily, standing up and moving over to the pyre. She picked up the red rose, resting it against her cheek as she gazed at the ring in her hand. Then she bent down and placed it carefully on the T-shirt, under the stem of the rose.  
"We're burning the past" she said softly, staring at the claddagh ring for what was probably the last time.  
"And lighting up the future" added Spike. He picked up a big stick which Buffy hadn't noticed before. The end was wrapped in cloth. Spike opened a container and dipped the stick in, carefully tapping the stick against the side before refastening the container. Walking a few metres away from it he used his lighter to set the cloth on fire. Thanks to the petrol, it caught quickly. As the flames jumped Buffy was reminded of the blazing torch tradition demanded in a vampire hunt.  
Spike went over to the pyre, holding the torch high. Drusilla's cries had stopped; she was staring at the flame in fascination. Into this silence, Spike began to speak.  
"We are born from the fires of love. We live lives ruled by passion, and now we return to the flames"  
He leaned down and rested the burning brand on the edge of the T-shirt. When he moved it away the T-shirt was ablaze. The fire caught quickly, blazing up orange and filling the night with dancing shadows. Spike moved away and placed Miss Edith gently back onto the pile, facing Drusilla. When her dress caught fire Spike rested the burning torch on the other side of the pyre. Buffy stood next to Drusilla, watching quietly as the symbols of Angel were destroyed. Dru whimpered softly as she stared at Miss Edith. Spike stared at the pyre for a while, then walked over to Buffy. He slid his arm around her and pulled her close. Dru's wails got louder. Then Spike turned to Buffy and kissed her, causing Dru to wail even more loudly at Spike's betrayal. When the kiss ended, he kept his arm around her. Buffy did not complain. They gazed at the bonfire. The flames were raging now. Miss Edith's hair was on fire and her face was looking strange. As they watched, flames burst out of her eyes and her whole face melted.  
Drusilla screamed, a scream of anguish, rage and despair. Spike released Buffy and went over to Drusilla. He untied her from the trellis, walked over and threw her onto the fire. Drusilla screamed.  
Suddenly Buffy could see the claddagh ring glowing under Drusilla's body. As Dru crumbled into burning dust, the ring was obscured.  
Buffy gazed at the pyre, enjoying the beauty of it. She would cry later, she knew, but for now she could enjoy the event. She and Spike stood side by side, their arms entwined, watching the fire. They stood silently until the fire died down. Gradually Buffy became aware that Spike was looking at her, not the flames. She turned to look at him and they kissed gently. When they pulled apart, Spike looked up at the sky.  
"Sunrise soon" he remarked. "I'm going in."  
"I've got school" said Buffy gloomily, beginning to realise how tired she was. "Goodbye Spike"  
"Goodbye Slayer"  
  
Buffy walked briskly home. As she walked, she became aware the something inside her had healed. She had moved on. Angel was truly dead.  
She climbed in through her window just in time to get up for school.  
  
Well, what did you think? Please REVIEW!  
  



End file.
